A guided tour in Brussels

Brussels Travel Blog

Kaijaâ€™s sister had only one day in Brussels when she visited us and she wanted to see as much as possible in this day. Unfortunately it was somewhat of a rainy day. I wanted to take her sister to some of the Sunday markets in Jeu de Balle or Gare Medi because these are places where you will meet the best Brussels atmosphere in the city. Kaija does absolute not like these places â€“ so I decided to do a Belgian compromise, what they always does down here.

I took then for a quick visit to Marollen without going into Jea de Balle. From there we went down the city centre where some of the main attractions.

Window at Royal Galleri

First we entered the Royal Galleri that luckily had most of the shops closed otherwise I guess that we had spent most of our time there. One shop got their attention and that was the Neuhaus chocolate shop, where they both bought loads of chocolate eggs for Easter. At the end of Galleri Royal just before you enter Grand Place there is an Australian waffle stand where they make great waffles withal kind of ice cream on. The girls had to stop there and have a couple of waffles. I actually didnâ€™t have one because I know that you canâ€™t move after one of those â€“ but they are damn good. If you are there, so for them â€“ you have to try.

We walked around the impressive Grand Place but unfortunately the buildings next to the Town Hall were under reconstruction. There was also some kind of tent in the middle of the square that spoiled most of the photo opportunities.

Easter in chocolate dreamland

From there we walked the short walk to Manikin Pies, where we took some pictures of the naked boy. I had hoped that he had one of his 400 costumes on but no. Next stop was the French frites at the frites stand behind the stock exchange The Beurse close to Anspachslaan. Both of the girls had craving for some real frites and this is one of the best places in the evening after a couple of beers too many.

From here we took the car to the cathedral of Brussels and followed by a drive by the modern part of Brussels near North Station to look at some of the modern skyscrapers like the Belgacom towers. Both are with mirror glass windows and they are connected by a bridge in the middle of the air. I have been inside there once and the collection of modern art there is truly impressive. If you are walking by one day try to take a look inside the reception area and check out the two big pieces that are standing there.

From there we went to the Basilica which is an impressive building â€“ the girls were fooling around there and took some good shot from the premises in front of the building where there at that point was an exhibition about Leonardo Da Vinci at that point. From here we drove the short distance to the Atomium followed by a visit to the European Head quarter and the Royal Palace.